Commentary

Alan Gross, After 5 Years in Cuban Prison, Starting Over in Israel

by Ron Kampeas, JTA | Jul 13, 2017 | Commentary, International, Israel, Maryland, News

WASHINGTON (JTA) — Alan Gross contacted me a couple of months ago over Facebook Messenger. There was something he thought I should know. I was pleasantly surprised. I’d only exchanged pleasantries with Gross in the several times I’d seen him since...

Baltimore and Race, Two Years After Freddie Gray

by Staff Report | Mar 31, 2017 | Baltimore, Columns, Commentary, Local, Maryland, National, News

It’s hard to believe that it’s already been two years since the death of Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old African-American resident of Baltimore who died in police custody, and the subsequent protests and riots that stunned the city and nation. On April 12, 2015, Baltimore...

We’re Not The Only Ones, Folks

by Michael Olesker | Jan 31, 2017 | Columns, Commentary, OP/ED

I always thought my Jews cornered the market on excessive worrying, but maybe I’m mistaken. There’s evidence that the gentiles are catching up. Mazel tov to us both. It’s undeniable the Jews major in angst — it’s part of our history and DNA. But I’m talking here about...

Was Obama Good or Bad for the Jews?

by Neil Rubin, Ph.D. | Jan 31, 2017 | Commentary, National Politics, News, OP/ED, Politics

As Barack Obama recently took that final presidential limo ride to the U.S. Capitol for the swearing-in of his successor, we already can look back on a legacy with American Jews that will be as complex as his tangles with Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. If...

School’s Out: Advice for Millennials

by Dr. Elliot D. Lasson | Jan 3, 2017 | Commentary, Opinion

In today’s workplace, there is a confluence of professionals coming from different backgrounds, experiences and generations. Perhaps the most talked about group is the Millennials. Sometimes referred to as “Generation Y,” Millennials are the first “digitally native”...

Make Baltimore Great Again?

by Rabbi Daniel Cotzin Burg | Nov 29, 2016 | Commentary, Community, Spirituality

A century ago, Reservoir Hill (though it was called something else) was the crown jewel of Baltimore’s Jewish community. The Whitelock Urban Farm sits on land that once housed sundry Jewish-owned businesses – a humming commercial hub bounded by dozens of Jewish...

Why Officiation Matters

by Fern Chertok and Leonard Saxe | Nov 29, 2016 | Commentary, News

At a summit held recently at the National Museum of American Jewish History in Philadelphia, several hundred communal professionals, rabbis, scholars, philanthropists and young intermarried couples gathered to discuss engagement of interfaith families in Jewish life....

Rikki Spector’s Voice of Healing

by Michael Olesker | Oct 19, 2016 | Baltimore, Blogs, Commentary, Community, Local, News, ONLINE ONLY

Election Day approaches, and Rochelle (Rikki) Spector begins to packs her bags. She’s leaving City Hall after 40 years of service on the Baltimore City Council, during most of which she was the only Jewish voice there. And a healing voice it was, too. She reached for...

Writer Recalls Mom’s Unique Way of Being Jewish

by Diana Bletter | Sep 18, 2016 | Commentary, Community, Family, Religion

My mother died on the morning right before Yom Kippur two years ago, and my sister and I were not at all surprised. Irreverent, quirky and eccentric, my mother always kvetched about Yom Kippur and would have done anything to miss it. Dying right before the fast day,...

Don’t Let Stress Run You Down

by Trina Lion | Sep 17, 2016 | Commentary, News

It’s been 21 years since I last lived in Baltimore. Recently while driving, I didn’t recognize any of the street signs. I braked while trying to understand, causing the driver behind me to brake, honk, then swerve to my right and scream at the top of her lungs. I had...